While the Knicks’ oldest player, Patrick Ewing, most likely will be stuck in New York this season no matter how much the club shops him, their youngest player, former St. John’s star Lavor Postell, may not be around for long.

The Post has learned that Postell, extremely concerned about his minuscule role this coming season, has requested a trade – one GM Scott Layden is reluctant to make.

Postell flew to California this weekend to meet with his agent, Dan Fegan, to discuss their next course of action.

Postell was picked in the second round by the Knicks in June and averaged 15 points per game for their summer league team in July. Postell feels he can play right away as a rookie, and with five guards ahead of him, is dreading a season stuck on Jeff Van Gundy’s pine as the 12th man, or worse, the injured list.

The Nets and Knicks discussed two weeks ago a trade in which Chris Childs and the rights to Postell would be shipped to the Nets for rebounding forward Jamie Feick and guard Elliot Perry. Layden rejected the deal.

Meanwhile, it’s been known for nearly a month the Knicks are willing to deal Ewing and that he is willing to be dealt after his demands for a two-year contract extension was met with silence. The Post reported last month the Knicks tried to ship Ewing to Portland for Brian Grant and Jermaine O’Neal, but the Blazers would not part with both.

Now there’s new talk the Knicks asked the Sonics for stud power forward Vin Baker, a 28-year-old from Hartford.

“I’d be excited about that deal, to be back closer to my family,” Baker told Fox Sports.

Obviously, such a trade would be a steal for the Knicks, but Seattle has no interest. Why should it?

That the Knicks are going to get any legitimate offers for Ewing this summer is farfetched because of salary-cap restraints. The Wizards were willing to dump Juwan Howard’s long-term deal on the Knicks last winter but Layden refused.

Ewing has given the Knicks a list of eight teams in which he would waive his no-trade clause. It’s not like they can dump him for a role player and a couple of first-round picks, however. At best, Ewing, in the last year of his contract that will pay him $15 million, may have one healthy season left. What team is going to be willing to part with $15 million in player value for that?

But the Knicks will explore possibilities now that their chances of upgrading through the free-agent market is gone. Only the naive believed Layden was sincere on Aug. 1 when he said he stood by his statement made at the end of the season – that the Knicks need Ewing to return to the Finals. Layden’s latest decree, made three weeks ago, came too late after he allowed several days of Ewing trade rumors to flourish.

The Knicks are more likely to grant Postell’s wishes, even though Layden loved his pre-draft workouts. The Knicks still need a rebounding power forward and Postell could be used as a trade pawn in a minor deal

Contract talks have not begun, but Postell is slotted for the $317,000 minimum and wants more than that. For the Knicks to pay Postell above the minimum, they would have to use a portion of their $2.25M salary-cap exception or $1.2M cap exception. The do-nothing Knicks have both their exceptions left.

Postell is slated as a shooting guard, but the Knicks already have five backcourt men – Allan Houston, Charlie Ward, Erick Strickland, Chris Childs and Latrell Sprewell. Fegan was approached by a handful of team executives after the summer league who told him Postell was ready to play now. “He’s too good to sit on the bench,” a source close to Postell said.

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Indiana GM Donnie Walsh said the addition of Brendan Malone as the Pacers’ top assistant will help Isiah Thomas in the same way former assistants Rick Carlisle and Dick Harter helped Larry Bird. Malone is leaving the Knicks after four years as assistant. Thomas fired Malone in Toronto after one season in 1996. “I would’ve thought that would be a problem, too, but they seem to be over that,” Walsh said …